Method in Madness

A story of a bengali boy who aspires to be the number one singer of the sub-continent but his journey isnt that simple,the biggest obstacle being his comparison to his elder brother.

               

                            Method in Madness

 

 “Oh, Kishore is doing well but Ashok was a class apart.” These were the words that had started to haunt Kishore. He always wondered why he was compared to his elder brother Ashok. It was true that Ashok had accomplished a lot at a very young age and Kishore always had best wishes for his brother but Kishore wanted to make his own name, his own identity.

Kishore was born into the Bengali Ganguly family on 4th August,1929 in India. Kishore Abhas Kumar was the youngest of the four siblings, the other being Ashok, Sati devi and Anoop. Kishore’s father was a lawyer and was very close to Kishore. Unlike the conventional lawyers, Mr. Ganguly had a great sense of humor. The whole court, including the accused, would laugh at his spontaneous jokes. Perhaps this is from where Kishore got his great comedy sense. As a kid Kishore would wander around here and there, play in the streets with his sister and with his practical jokes,  would prove to be a source of nuisance for the whole society. But there also was a philosophical aspect of Kishore’s personality. Often he would spend hours besides the railway track and watch the train whistle by. He would bring an old cassette player along with him, which was gifted to him by his late grandmother, and would listen to K.L Saigal’s classical songs.

Kishore chasing the train is his childhood

 

 

 After graduating from college, Kishore’s elder brother Ashok moved to Bombay and made an entrance into the Indian film Industry. With his natural style of acting and charming looks, he soon became a prominent figure in the Indian cinema.  At that time there was a tradition that actors used to playback for themselves, so Ashok started singing and he was good at that too. Back at home in Bengal, Kishore felt very proud of his brother. He always had a dream to sing and to entertain people but whenever he tried, he was discouraged by the saying, “You sing well but not as good as Ashok.”

 Kishore was never a good student. He would barely pass his exams. He always said, “Teachers ask me questions that I don’t know so I give them answers that they don’t.”  Sensing the situation Ashok called his younger brother to Bombay and through his contacts, got him some movies. But Kishore never wanted to act, he always wanted to sing, as he considered acting to be fake and superficial. Singing came right from the core of the heart, it was rich and beautiful. He tried everything he could to escape from the film industry. He once came to the sets with his moustache and head half shaved and on questioning told that as he was paid half the advance he was supposed to be paid, so the director will get a Kishore Kumar half of what he was supposed to get. On one occasion when shooting in Bombay he had to park a car at a nearby stop, as the director said action Kishore drove the car and took it to his home town in Bengal only to return after two days. On questioning he told that the Director said action but he never said cut !! 

The biggest irony was that despite all his efforts, Kishore’s movies were doing great at the box office. Now like his elder brother Kishore himself was a star. Finally his dreams came true when he was given a chance to sing and playback for himself. Kishore did not disappoint. Kishore’s freestyle and flamboyant singing rocked the world but there was still an issue. Kishore was only getting comedy movies and his persona was that of a clown who could sing and dance a little. This image led to the downfall of Kishore. No one took him serious. Suddenly his movies started to go down the drain. People who used to be all around Kishore in his glory days where nowhere to be seen. Kishore was all alone, fighting a battle he had already lost.

 

Kishore in a pensive mood

 

Kishore was shocked to see the selfish attitude of people. People, whom he had worked with, whom he had entertained, had all forgotten him. His heart was broken. This led Kishore away from people and closer and closer to nature. He remembered as a child when he was upset, he used to sit beside the railway track and listen to the sound of the train’s whistle. That chirping of the birds, that blossoming of the flowers, childhood was so amazing, he said to himself.

News spread out in Bombay that Kishore had lost it. Kishore was getting more and more eccentric. He started to hate people. Did not socialize at all and had a sign board planted in front of his house saying, “Beware of dogs and Kishore. “ All these events were making him firmer and sterner. His voice was getting more and more deep. Kishore was definitely no more a clown.

Then in the early 70’s a new actor was establishing himself at the mainstream cinema. His name was Rajesh Khanna. Rajesh had a very unorthodox style of acting and if there was anyone in the world who could be his voice, it was Kishore Kumar. Kishore sang for Rajesh in the movie Aradhana and what happened next is now a part of history. The skillful acting of Rajesh and the melodious voice of Kishore struck the sub-continent. Indian cinema had never seen such a turnout for a movie ever before. Kishore was number one once again and this supremacy would continue for the next 20 years, till his sudden death on 13th October,1987. Kishore's departure has created such a gap in the indian cinema which no other artist has been able to fill.Now people know Ashok kumar as the brother of the Maestro Kishore. No wonder Kishore was mad but he had a method in madness…

Author's Note

This is only my second writing so please ignore any grammatical errors.. The style of writing is highly influenced by screenplay techniques used by Satyajeet Ray. Hope you people will like it.

Reviews

[Imara]

I love it. I can't help but wonder with all of the pictures, could this be a true story? You are a true story teller. At times the flow was stopped when you time skipped to progress the story but it is overshadowed by the great skill you have! I can understand the sibling rivalry at the beginning and a lot of people connect with that, you really made me root for Kishore! I was really glad when he got a happy ending. Awesome Job! :D

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much Imara...Yes its a true story...Glad you liked it :-)

[Imara]

Wow! I am going to go find his music now :)

[Sanjeeta Sharma Pokhar..]

Good job, folk...Regards from Nepal... :)

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much :-)

[Jorj Jie]

Amazing write! I can relate.... sibling rivalry can turn out good or bad. I'm glad Kishore had a happy ending. ;) I am a fan.

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much..i am glad you could relate :-)

[Surbhi Khandelwal]

i would never know about Kishore Kumar if i didn't come here...thanks for awaring me with this....nice piece of writing...good job...keep it up ! :)

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much Surbhi..appreciate your comments :-)

[Leslie Philibert]

This is very fine, I love this kind of work, I can see the characters, see the pictures,
I really enjoy learning about other cultures in this way, you write excellently. And I know of the filmmaker Satyajeet Ray, who is considered one of the best. Great job.

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much Sir..I am glad you liked it :-)

[NoblePariah]

This is very good, you made the characters pop very well, the only thing is I wanted to see a few more characteristic details personally, such as Kishore's personality, to help me get better acquainted, though I also understand that this is a true story and why it would be difficult to do so. Again excellent job.

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much for your kind review :-)

[Zoe Marie Ross]

Great story, full of ups and downs. It is a relief the story had a happy ending, well done! :)

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much..I am glad you liked it :-)

[Saumya]

thats....................................outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean,i had never read such a beautiful story as this...!!!!!!!!!!!!! some of the painful parts, are similar to my life also..... i too have, some such people who only are with people to satisfy there own neeed.!!!!!!!!!! therefore,i can deeeeeeeeeeeeeeply feel the majestic moral behind this.....ie ................."always do the best of what you can, and don't fear for the return, simply leave it upto GOD.........AND HE WILL give such great results that noone, except you and your heart can imagine........because,its not success,...but failures, which yield success................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much for your review saumya..Really appreciate your comments..i am glad you could relate :-)

[Saumya]

you are higly welcomed!!!!!!!!!!111

[Will]

A very interesting tale. His rise and fall (then eventual rise once more) is something most can relate to. You displayed his story relatively well, with a very readable lay-out save for a few grammar that are easily caught with some review. Solid job, and I really liked it.

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much...glad you liked it..

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Very descriptive and informative. I really quite enjoyed your "voice" in this one, you kept my attention until the very end. Well done.

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much :-)

[SuzieQ]

What a wonderful story and I liked reading that it was a true story. Sibling rivalry is a tough thing but sometimes it does push us to be better and sometimes it breaks us. Great writing! I enjoyed it!

[Talal Hussain]

Thank you so much for your comments...really appreciate your thoughts.